1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing collaborative services. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for providing collaborative services within the context of content and more specifically to systems and methods for providing collaborative services within the context of an online course delivered to a user over a network such as the Internet.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Older technologies or ideas are constantly being rethought and improved as new ideas are implemented. This is evident in the Internet arena, which has brought significant improvements to our lives by revolutionizing many of our older technologies. Many of the technological changes have a significant impact on how certain activities are conducted.
For instance, catalogs provide people that do not want to go and visit a brick and mortar store with the ability to order and purchase the goods and services that are described in the catalogs. A consumer fills out an order form and mails the completed order form to the company that provided the catalog. Upon receipt of the order form, the catalog company will fill the order and ship the order to the consumer. While mail order catalogs still exist, some of these companies are taking advantage of the Internet and allowing users to shop online. The Internet streamlines the process of ordering goods and services and a consumer is able to enjoy their newly purchased products much sooner than if they ordered the same products from a catalog because the order is received much sooner by the catalog company and order processing is more automated.
In a similar manner, many people have chosen to take mail order courses instead of attending school or college or for other reasons. Mail order courses, however, are often a relatively slow process that can take a significant amount of time because the assignments and completed homework are sent back and forth between the teacher and the learner by mail. When it comes time to take a test for the mail order course, the user may be required to travel to a testing center in order to ensure that the test is fairly taken. The travel requirement, however, seems to defeat the purpose of a course that is taken by mail.
The Internet, however, has revolutionized this industry as well and courses that were previously taken by mail may now be taken online. Taking an online course provides distinct advantages. The course can be accessed at almost any time of the day or night and the user can take the course from the comfort of their own home. The users are not required to physically go to a classroom as all content is accessible from their computers. The pace of an online course can vary. Some online courses allow users to proceed at their own pace, while other courses are accelerated. In fact, many universities and colleges offer online courses that can be taken by almost anyone in the world including currently enrolled students.
Online courses or online learning, however, also has disadvantages. One disadvantage is related to the communication or interaction that a learner or user has with her peers or her teachers or with other experts. For instance, the course content is presented to the user over the user's computer and may include multimedia content. However, the user is unable to ask a question or comment on a particular topic in the context of the course and communication with other users is limited to written communication out of the context of the course.
If the user does have a question, it is possible that the user may send an e-mail to the instructor or course manager. However, the course will continue and the user will have to wait until they receive an answer to their e-mail. In addition, sending an e-mail typically requires the user to leave the context of the online course and enter their e-mail application. By the time the user is able to return to the online course, they may have lost valuable time and may have to repeat some of the course in order to refresh their memory with regard to the content that they were studying.
Instant feedback or communication with various peers within the context of the course's content is not usually possible. In a structured online course, for example, where a user is required to meet certain deadlines, the course may continue without interruption and the user must simply rely on himself or herself to correct misunderstandings without undue delay. The users do not have the support or advantage of interacting with their peers, who may be able to provide significant help. The users are unable to ask questions that have immediate feedback and cannot share their insights with others. The overall objective of most online courses is to increase learning or facilitate the learning process. The inability of users to interact with their peers while reading through static material is a detriment to online learning and is partly responsible for the attrition rates of online courses.